A transducer array may be attached to or embedded within a structure for diagnosis of the integrity (i.e., health) of the structure. Crack defects above a certain size may compromise the health of the structure. The transducer, which may be a passive sensor for detecting, an active transducer for exciting signals that propagate through the structure when an electrical signal is applied, or both, may sense and/or excite signals in the structure to detect cracks, and the transducers may be controlled by electronics associated with the transducer array.
Current active damage detection techniques have been shown to be highly accurate and reliable for detecting structural damage when all of the transducers are healthy and functional. However, if one or more transducers are degraded, damaged, or missing, the structural health monitoring system may not function properly and give false indications of structural damage which, in reality, is a health monitoring system failure.
To make the diagnostic function of a structural health monitoring system more robust in the presence of degraded, damaged, or missing transducers, there is a need for transducer and system self-diagnostics to include the ability to accurately detect and identify which transducers are degraded, damaged, or missing. Additionally, there is a need for a built-in capacity for self-healing or self-compensation to maintain a satisfactory level of health monitoring performance.